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Airwave Flight 4028
Airwave Airlines Flight 4028 was a scheduled passenger flight from Reno-Tahoe International Airport(ICAO: KRNO), Reno, Nevada to Long Beach Airport(ICAO: KLGB), Long Beach, Los Angeles, California on February 1, 2000. Only a few minutes after takeoff, the 737-400 assigned to the route crashed into a caravan park situated just past of the Truckee River, in the midst of a snowstorm. The crash killed 58 of the 64 people on board. It was discovered by an investigation by the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Bureau) that the cause of the plane crash was due to Engine No.1, which was the left engine, was improperly de-iced before take off. The cause was that a disgruntled employee at the company had purposely refrained from carrying out his tasks properly, one of which was to de-ice both engines on the flight. He was charged with 58 counts of involuntary manslaughter and negligence and sentenced to 58 years in prison without parole. Basic Details Date: '''February 1, 2000 '''Passengers: 64 '''Fatalities: '''58 '''Site of Incident: '''North of Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada '''Conclusion: '''Poor aircraft maintenance leading to crash Aircraft '''Operator: '''Airwave Airlines '''Aircraft involved: '''737-4Q8 General Electric CFM56-3 '''Registration: '''N821AW '''Passengers: '''59 '''Crew: '''5 '''Origin: '''Reno-Tahoe International Airport, Reno, Nevada, USA '''Destination: '''Long Beach International Airport, Long Beach, California, USA '''Survivors: '''6 '''Fatalities: '''58 Aircraft and Crew Details The aircraft involved was a Boeing 737-4Q8 General Electric CFM56-3. Airline records show that it was manufactured in the Boeing Manufacturing Plant in Seattle around mid-to-late 1994, it had its maiden flight on 6 October, 1995, under Airwave’s livery. It was leased to Soar Airlines for a year, and was returned to the Airwave fleet in Christmas of 1997. Up until the crash, the said plane was not known to have had any faults. The crew on board the flight consisted of 46-year-old British Captain Jack Hamilton, an experienced former Global Express 747-400BCF pilot, and 29-year-old First Officer Hannes Obermayer - a trainee pilot - and 3 flight attendants. Captain Hamilton could be called a ‘veteran‘ of some sorts. He had logged more than 23,000 flight hours in 747-400BCF aircraft, and had other prior experience in 737-400’s. Meanwhile, First Officer Obermayer, was the complete opposite. He had just been hired by the company, and had acquired less than 1,500 flight hours in 737 aircraft. He signed with the airline only a mere 3 months before the crash. He was trained and qualified at the American Pilot Academy In Fort Worth, Texas. Both pilots had flown the Reno - Long Beach route before. The airplane's most recent maintenance check occured on January 2, 2000. Crash Details Flight 4028 parks at Gate C7 at Concourse C at 4:51AM from a scheduled Sacramento - Reno flight. At 5:32AM, the flight finishes boarding and de-icing procedures and the flight begins to push back. On board are 64 passengers, the majority of whom are US and Canadian citizens. They begin to taxi to runway 34L for takeoff. At the time, a large snowstorm had fallen and covered the runway with large piles of the snow, delaying takeoff time for it to be cleared. As well as snow, there were heavy crosswinds in the area. After a while of nearly running off the edge of the taxiway, the plane lines up on runway 34L at 6:02AM. They are the last flight to take off before the airport closes temporarily. First Officer Hannes runs through the Before Takeoff Checklist; the flaps are set to 20 degrees. ATC gives clearance for the flight to take off. The Captain raises the throttle to full. Almost immediately, both pilots notice that Engine No.1 is not giving enough power at this crucial moment. The flaps are raised to 0 degrees, but to no avail. The aircraft overruns the end of the runway and collides into the Approach Runway Lighting System, clipping off the left landing gear. The pilots barely manage to lift the aircraft off of the ground, but suddenly it falls like a rock just past the Truckee River, and crashes into a caravan park, exploding into a massive fireball. Search and Recovery Effort Instantly the ATC contacted airport fire department and city fire department. They arrived a mere minute after the initial crash. Witnesses at the scene reported seeing an inferno that melted the snow around the site in a radius of 20 metres. Rubble had replaced every caravan and the oil had started leaking into the river. A survivor at the scene described it as “Hell on earth”. After 4 days of search efforts, they managed to recover 10 survivors. One of them was Captain Jack Hamilton, but unfortunately he died en route to the hospital, as well as 3 others. He left behind a wife and 3 children. After week all, bodies on board of the flight had been uncovered and were identified. The US Government declared a day of mourning for the victims. An NTSB investigation team arrived at the crash site on January 15. Leading the investigation was Sir Graham Bourke, a British national who had 30 years experience of solving aircraft incidents, including incidents from Global Freightways, Orbit Airlines etc. They managed to recover the wreckage from the aircraft, and was sent to the NTSB HeadQuarters in Washington DC. With them was engineers from Boeing factory and representatives from Airwave Airlines.